maga

The reflexive pronoun is essential for indicating that an action is directed back at the subject. Hungarian treats maga like a noun that belongs to you.

1. Forms by Person:
The pronoun must match the subject using possessive suffixes:

• magam (myself)
• magad (yourself - informal)
• maga (him/her/itself OR formal 'you')
• magunk (ourselves)
• magatok (yourselves - informal)
• maguk (themselves OR formal 'you' plural)

2. Verb Conjugation:
When maga is the direct object, the verb must use the definite conjugation. Unlike 1st and 2nd person personal pronouns which take the indefinite conjugation (e.g., Engem látsz - You see me), reflexive pronouns always take the definite conjugation (e.g., Magadat látod - You see yourself).

3. Case Suffixes and Postpositions:
You can add any case suffix to these forms (e.g., magamnak - to myself). For the accusative case, the -t is optional for 1st/2nd person singular (magam(at)) but mandatory for 3rd person and all plurals (magát, magukat). When using postpositions, reflexive pronouns act like regular nouns: the postposition remains a separate, uninflected word (e.g., magam után - after myself), unlike personal pronouns which fuse with them (e.g., utánam).

4. Emphatic Use and önmaga:
You can place a reflexive pronoun after a personal pronoun to emphasize 'personally' or 'by oneself' (e.g., Én magam láttam - I saw it myself). For even stronger emphasis, or to clearly distinguish 'himself/herself' from the formal 'you', Hungarian uses the prefix ön- (e.g., önmaga, önmagam).

5. Formal 'You' vs. Reflexive:
The 3rd person forms (maga, magát, etc.) are identical whether they mean 'himself' or the formal 'you'. Only context, an explicit subject like Ön (the more polite formal 'you') or Ő (he/she), or the use of önmaga clarifies the meaning. Note that using maga as 'you' can sometimes be perceived as cold or rude; Ön is the standard for professional settings. Because maga is a 3rd person pronoun, it always takes 3rd person verb conjugations even when it translates to 'you' (e.g., Maga látja - You see it). In written correspondence, the formal 'you' is traditionally capitalized (Maga / Maguk), whereas the reflexive pronoun remains lowercase (maga / maguk).

6. Being Alone:
When used as a state with the verb to be, the reflexive pronoun expresses being alone (e.g., Magam vagyok - I am alone).

7. Expressing 'Own':
You can use the reflexive pronoun before a noun to emphasize ownership, meaning 'one's own'. When used this way, it almost always requires the definite article a/az before the pronoun (e.g., a magam idejében - in my own time). Crucially, the possessed noun must always take the 3rd-person possessive suffix (-a/-e/-ja/-je), regardless of the owner (e.g., a magam háza - my own house, NOT a magam házam).

8. Reflexive Pronouns vs. Reflexive Verbs:
English speakers often mistakenly use maga for routine personal actions like washing, dressing, or shaving (e.g., "I wash myself"). In Hungarian, these routine actions are expressed using reflexive verbs, which typically end in -kozik, -kezik, or -közik. For example, "I wash myself" is Mosakszom, not Mosom magam. You should only use maga when the action is directed at yourself in a way that could otherwise be directed at someone else (e.g., Látom magam - I see myself).